OIF and ONF Join Forces to Test Transport SDN

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Optical
Internetworking Forum (OIF) and the Open
Networking Foundation (ONF) are working together to test Transport
Software Defined Networking (SDN) in several global carrier lab
environments. Participating carriers include China Mobile, China
Telecom, TELUS and Verizon. Consulting carriers and research
institutions participating in the demonstration include KDDI R&D
Laboratories, Orange and China Academy of Telecommunications Research.

The testing, which begins this month, leverages the OIF‘s knowledge of
transport networks and worldwide interoperability testing experience for
optical equipment, along with ONF’s leadership role for the OpenFlow™
protocol and SDN architecture. OpenFlow extensions for optical transport
developed in the ONF Optical Transport Working Group are being
prototyped in the demo along with Service Request and Topology APIs from
application to controller. The framework of the demo is
application-based bandwidth-on-demand between data center sites, also
referred to as cloud-bursting. This real-world use case will illustrate
prototype deployment of Transport SDN technology, common interfaces
required, needs for interoperability and any operational challenges.

“As a major carrier, China Mobile has been keeping intense interest in
applying the SDN technology to transport network applications, and
participated in the OIF/ONF joint test. Through this SDN test, China
mobile wishes to further promote the migration of network towards
management centralization and resource virtualization, eventually
enabling traffic-aware and end-to-end dynamic coordination, as well as
realizing multi-layer, multi-domain and multi-technology optimizations.” Li
Han, deputy director, China Mobile Research Institute, China Mobile.

"China Telecom has recognized the potential value of SDN technology and
wants better understandings of its deployment and influence to carrier
networks. China Telecom is excited to participate in this OIF/ONF joint
effort. We believe our collaborative efforts with global partners will
help the industry to recognize the benefits and problems of SDN
technology better, and also accelerate the development of SDN
technology, especially in transport network area." Li Dou, vice
president, Beijing Research Institute, China Telecom

“TELUS is excited to participate in the OIF demonstration with our
international peers to explore opportunities in software control, an
exciting new area of SDN that has the potential to develop more dynamic,
flexible and customer-friendly networks around the world. As the only
the Canadian carrier participating, we look forward to exploring the
industry’s latest innovations in order to bring Canadians the best
network experience.” Ibrahim Gedeon, CTO, TELUS

“Verizon has been involved with SDN from its genesis and, as this
technology evolves, we look forward to a better understanding of its
deployment and operation. As one of the carriers involved in the trial
and a hosting lab, Verizon fully supports the OIF and ONF and their
collaborative efforts to advance the industry development in this area
to achieve the expected benefits of SDN, such as increased network
programmability, application aware networking and simplified service
development.” Chris Emmons, director, Network Systems, Implementation
and Planning, Verizon.

2014 Global Transport SDN Demonstration

SDN, in tandem with Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), will shape
the future of telecommunications by improving the network’s ability to
dynamically adapt to the needs of applications and services.
Participating OIF and ONF member companies will unite to showcase how
carriers can deploy SDN technology in their networks. The demonstration
testing will take place in carrier labs located in North America,
Europe and Asia and will leverage technology work from the forums’
technical committees and the support of OIF and ONF carrier members. The
two groups seek to accelerate adoption of OpenFlow and Transport SDN
technologies that enable increased network programmability to support a
new era of dynamic services.

Launched in 1998, the OIF is the first industry group to unite
representatives from data and optical networking disciplines, including
many of the world's leading carriers, component manufacturers and system
vendors. The OIF promotes the development and deployment of
interoperable networking solutions and services through the creation of
Implementation Agreements (IAs) for optical, interconnect, network
processing, component and networking systems technologies. The OIF
actively supports and extends the work of standards bodies and industry
forums with the goal of promoting worldwide compatibility of optical
internetworking products. Information on the OIF can be found at http://www.oiforum.com.

About ONF

Launched in 2011 by Deutsche Telekom, Facebook, Google, Microsoft,
Verizon, and Yahoo!, the Open Networking Foundation (ONF) is a growing
nonprofit organization with more than 140 members whose mission is to
accelerate the adoption of open SDN. ONF promotes open SDN and OpenFlow
technologies and standards while fostering a vibrant market of products,
services, applications, customers, and users. For further details visit
the ONF website at: http://www.opennetworking.org.